The Big To-Do List

Update: Don’t want to search for this list every time you need to see it? I’ve added a dedicated remodeling page!

Get ready for a mammoth of a list. Seriously.

While we aren’t redoing all the things we’d like to with Grandma’s house (because we’re renting, not buying, so we’re just doing upgrades to help her sell – which means that we’re adding a half bath instead of a full bath that requires removing an exterior door, and forgoing tons of upgrades such as moving the wall between the two bedrooms to even out the size, gutting the kitchen, gutting the bathroom, finishing the basement, and adding a large deck off the eat-in kitchen), we do have a lot of items to tackle. In fact, we have so many that we need to separate them by room! I’ll try to update this post periodically or copy the list into new posts as we go along so you can keep up.

Clark’s Bedroom (aka Rainbow Room)

Paint ceiling
Prime and paint walls
Prime and paint trim & closet doors
Add details to door and paint
Rip up orange shag carpet
Refinish hardwood floors
Change out ceiling fan
Change out or paint doorknob
Paint radiators

Living Room

Paint ceiling
Square out archways and add drywall
Prime and paint walls
Prime and paint trim and inside of door
Rip up green shag carpet
Mount flatscreen above fireplace
Refinish hardwood floors
Change out ceiling fan (move ceiling fan?)
Change out or paint fixtures
Add light in “entry” area
Rip out barnwood wall or stain? (Reader Poll?)
Change wiring and add new electric fireplace insert (that isn’t 40 years old and a fire hazard)
Stain fireplace mantel? Add more prominent mantelpiece?
Paint radiators
Add “built-in” bookcases on risers
Add trim to bookcases for custom look
Add crown moulding

Office (Formal Dining)

Paint ceiling
Square out doorway and add drywall
Remove American Colonial paneling
Repair paneling wall with spackle and sand
Prime and paint walls
Prime and paint trim
Paint radiators
Rip out green shag carpet
Refinish hardwood
Change out or paint fixtures
What to do with phone box?
Add crown moulding
Light fixture?

Master Bedroom

Paint ceiling
Rip out paneling in main area
Prime paneling in closet area
Take out old-fashioned decorative accents
Prime and paint walls/paneling
Replace ceiling fan (or just paint brass and switch out blades)
Frame out closet area
Add closet rods
Prime and paint trim and pocket door
Paint radiators
Turn 2nd pantry into half-bath attached to master?

Kitchen/Informal Dining

Replace industrial light fixture and patch surrounding area
Paint ceiling
Take down border
Temporarily paint paneling (replace with fresh drywall later)
Paint kitchen door with oil-based paint
Change out/paint hardware/fixtures
Change out cabinet fixtures
Paint or refinish cabinets? Including hallway cabinets
Add cabinet inserts (pull outs, etc.)
Replace kitchen sink and faucet
Update ceiling fan
Chisel out decorative tiles and replace with plain tiles
Regrout tiles or add new white grout on top
Update bar braces to more contemporary style
Paint laminate countertops
Paint trim and beam
Paint radiators
Remove flooring and install laminate, hardwood-look durable flooring
What to do with fireplace?
Remove bar and add island using upper cabinets mounted to the floor?
Replace dishwasher/cabinet?

Bathroom

Replace faucet/plumbing/shower head
Reporceline bathtub in white or replace bathtub?
Remove medicine cabinet over toilet – add metal wine rack as towel holder
Replace toilet!!!
Paint tile? Replace pink tiles? Remove tile from non-shower spaces and put in bathroom-grade drywall?
Stain vanity and update hardware
Replace seashell-shaped counter/sink and faucet
Replace floor tile
Update medicine cabinet stain/knobs
Update vanity light fixture
Update industrial light fixture/fan and patch surrounding area
Paint ceiling
Paint bathroom
Paint trim and pocket door
Paint radiators

Small Bedroom

Paint ceiling
Tear out paneling and patch with spackle
Paint walls and trim
Paint closet and pocket doors
Add crown moulding
Paint radiators
Remove brown shag carpet
Refinish hardwood

Basement

Paint everything (rafters and underside of main-level floor included) bright white
Section off laundry area and furnace area
Replace back room door
Add better lighting in cistern
Replace broken window in back room
Update bar in back room
Replace basement door (something with a frosted glass panel?)
Add full panels and banisters to stair rails
Concrete stain on floor?